


She Tastes Like You

by winterschild



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, American Harry Styles, American Liam Payne, American Louis Tomlinson, Bisexual Louis Tomlinson, Endgame Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Football | Soccer Player Louis Tomlinson, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Karaoke, M/M, University
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:15:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25810450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterschild/pseuds/winterschild
Summary: Harry is a freshman at Michigan State University and he's fitting right in with his roommate's friend group.  Part of that friend group is Louis Tomlinson, who Harry might be falling deeply in love with.  There's only one problem: Although openly bisexual, Louis Tomlinson has been dating long-term girlfriend Eleanor Calder since his senior year of high school.Will Harry be able to control his feelings as he becomes close to Louis, or will it all come crashing down?~Title taken from "Girl Crush"
Relationships: Eleanor Calder/Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne & Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan & Harry Styles, Niall Horan & Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	1. Part One

“Alright, Harry, I think that’s the last of it, hun.” Harry looked over to his mother, Anne, with a tight-lipped smile. He could feel the sweat on his back from the four trips of carrying boxes up the grueling stairwells to his dorm, and he was itching to remove it and take a shower. Whoever said Michigan was a polar vortex had obviously never done manual labor in the middle of August.

He clutched the hem of his shirt, pulling it up to his forehead to clear off the beads of sweat threatening to drop before replying, “Thank you so much for everything, mom.”

“Aw, anything for my baby boy,” Anne cooed, moving forward to engulf her son in a hug. “I know you didn’t want me to get all mushy but I just can’t believe my little boy is starting his freshman year of college! You’re all grown up.”

“Mom,” groaned Harry, humor backing up his tone. “Come on, mom. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just college.”

“It’s not just college.” Anne placed her hand on her hip, popping it out to the left. “Before we know it, you’ll have your big, fancy degree and you’ll be off to graduate school and you’ll get married and have a family and I’ll be little ole’ mom rotting away in Grand Rapids.”

“Now I know where I get it from,” mumbled Harry. He rolled his forest green eyes, shaking his head incredulously as he chuckled. “That’s a bit overdramatic, wouldn’t you say? You’re not even forty yet, mom.”

“I just,” she started, letting a breath out, closing her eyes for a moment. “I’m so proud of both you and your sister. She’ll be graduating from Michigan this year and you’ll be graduating from Michigan State in four, and I just don’t know how I got so lucky to be your mom.” Harry noticed the tear fall down her cheek and couldn’t resist pulling her back into a hug, squeezing her tightly to reassure her.

“Don’t cry, mom, please.” He released her, a grin finding a way to his face. “No matter how old either of us get, we’ll both still need you. I promise.” He patted her shoulder comfortingly but could feel the pressure build behind his eyes as if his own tears were about to spring. Harry hugged her again, pushing the tears down, basking in the last motherly embrace for a while. “Now,” he chuckled, pulling her away seriously, “if you get lonely, I’m just a FaceTime call away. And I’ll make sure to not do drugs or drink alcohol. And I know that safe sex is important and, yes, I remember how common STDs spread in college.” His mother had a proud smile, tilting her head on the slightest of angles as Harry continued. “I’ll call you at least once a week and I know how sensitive my scholarship is and I won’t mess it up. I promise.”

A hand was pressed against his cheek and a thumb rubbed his cheekbone as the soft, kind tone of his mother said, “You’ll do great, honey. I know you will.” She leaned up, pressing a kiss to his cheek, and pulled away with sad eyes. “I best be going if I’m going to miss that Lansing traffic on 96. They have construction for at least twenty miles. I love you so much, darling.”

“I love you too, mom. I’ll be home for Thanksgiving.”

“You better be.” Anne reached done, grabbing her purse from his desk chair, and slung it over her shoulder. She turned around once more, sending Harry a quick wave before nodding her head and walking off down the corridor.

Harry stepped back, taking in a deep breath and looking around at his first opportunity of adulthood. The dorm wasn’t too bad—a lot less prison-like than other schools he had checked out. The walls were crème drywall, much better than the white prison-brick most schools had for their dorm rooms. There was a large window overlooking part of the campus, including a nice green courtyard where all those freshmen hung out in the brochures. The dorm room itself was quite roomy, all things considering—or maybe it was the layout that he and his roommate Niall had gone with, both with lofted bed. His roommate’s desk was underneath his own bed, complete with his dresser and guitar stand. Harry had a futon under his, while his desk was placed on the side of it and a shared television was set on the adjacent side of the room.

He had only talked to his roommate a few times since he had been assigned. They hadn’t gotten to physically meet in person yet, considering that Niall was from Ireland and hadn’t flown into Michigan until early August. However, they had texted back and forth, getting to know more about one another and deciding on who would bring what. The Irish lad played for the school soccer team—or footy, as Niall called it—so he had moved in last week. His navy-blue bedding was rumpled slightly, most likely from the morning, and his laptop was out on his desk, several papers already tacked to his memo board. An Irish flag was on the wall by his bed, right next to the giant Michigan State University flag. He hadn’t touched Harry’s side, leaving it a blank slate for Harry to work with.

So that’s what he did. He got to work, unpacking his clothes from his suitcase and totes, shoving the extra storage onto the top shelf in his closet. While most of his fashion sense consisted of joggers and track pants, he did hang up the two suits his mom told him to bring with him. After he had emptied out and organized his clothes to where he wanted them, Harry went to work on his bedding. He had pre-washed the bedding, so he was able to just toss it over the small, single mattress, along with his light yellow duvet. After placing his two pillows on his bed, he went to tacking up his Pride flag, knowing that Niall had already expressed his approval and support for the LBGT+ community. Thankfully, that was something they had discussed within their first conversation, ridding any anxiety and doubts Harry was experiencing. 

Halfway through setting up his workspace, the door slammed open and a shorter, blond kid sauntered into the room, earbuds blasting and soccer duffle thrown over his shoulder. The man was looking down, eyes focused on the phone in his hand, but he jumped when he noticed the new presence in the room. The person who Harry presumed was Niall ripped his earbuds out, a massive smile overtaking his face as he exclaimed, “You’re Harry, then?”

“That’s me, I guess,” the taller boy chuckled, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. 

Niall walked forward, hand out for Harry to take, before he pulled him into a half hug as he started jabbering, “It’s so good to finally meet you, mate. The team was giving me a bit of shit for getting placed with a freshman roomie, but I knew from the first text that we’d be best mates!” The Irishman stepped back, eyes roaming over Harry, probably to take him in. “Fuck, mate. You don’t look like a freshman at all. How tall are ya?”

“Uhm, my license says 6’0, but I always say I’m 5’11.” He chuckled, scratching his neck nervously under the scrutiny. Despite what his actual height was, he was definitely taller than Niall by at least a few inches—not enough to tower over him, but enough where he has to look down to meet his eyes. Speaking of his eyes, it was now he was just noticing how stormy blue they were. It was definitely enough for Harry to say his roommate was attractive, but thankfully not his type, meaning his freshman year was about to get a lot easier.

Niall laughed, stepping back towards his bed, where he had tossed his duffle bag. “Either way, mate, you’re a tall motherfucker. No one is gonna believe you’re eighteen, especially not with that velvety-smooth voice. You play sports?”

Harry shook his head no, with a blush blazing on his cheeks from the compliment, before realizing that Niall wasn’t looking at him. When Niall craned his head back, probably thinking Harry was an idiot, Harry blurted out, “No! No.” He coughed. “Sorry, no. Afraid I didn’t get any coordination for that, though I’m quite educated on the great game of soccer.”

“Great! You’ll have to come to some of our games this season, then. We absolutely kick ass!” Harry just agreed, knowing that it would be best to become friends with his roommate and assimilate with his friend group, if possible, considering Niall had already been here a year and was settled.

Harry turned back to his desk, continuing to unpack and organize the supplies, but was soon interrupted with the exciting tone of Niall’s voice exclaiming, “No way! A fucking Gibson ES-350T! Mate, shit!” The taller lad turned around, brows furrowed at the sudden outburst proclaiming his guitar type.

“Shit, Styles, you told me you had money but not _this_ much money. Is this yours?”

He just nodded slowly, moving closer and picking it up in his hands, holding it out in front of Niall. “Yeah, this is Luna, my pride and joy. It was a gift.”

“A _gift_? What kind of friends do you fucking have? Can I—“ Harry nodded, allowing Niall to cradle the guitar. Normally he wouldn’t be very trusting of anyone touching it, but he could tell Niall would care for it as much as he did. “What kind of friends do you have where you get these as gifts? These aren’t even on the market. This is like a fucking $10,000 gift! It’s like getting a car.”

Harry shrugged. “I have connections.”

“Man, Lou was right. Grand Rapids bitches do have money.” Harry laughed, scrunching his face in amused confusion but let it go, showing Niall more specs on the guitar, as if Niall didn’t already know. The rest of the evening went by from there—the two boys playing with their guitars, sipping casually from Niall’s hidden alcohol stash, and talking about their lives. Niall told Harry about Ireland, his parent’s divorce, and his older brother Greg. He told him a bit about what being a sound engineering degree entails, and how he even got involved in music in the first place. Harry told him about growing up in Grand Rapids and about his sister down in Ann Arbor. Until the early hours of the next morning, they became as close as two strangers could, like they had been best friends since kindergarten. If tonight was any tell, Harry knew he was going to love university. 

* * *

It wasn’t until a few days later, on Tuesday morning when Harry’s alarm went off at 9:00AM that he realized one thing he didn’t love about university—morning classes. Being a freshman always sucked because you didn’t pick your own classes, but they were chosen by an advisor. With that said, here he was, rolling out of bed and trudging over to his mirror. He fixed his hair, running his fingers through it haphazardly until it fell into some sort of style. His mom had begged him to get a haircut before the school year started, but he was trying to grow it out to donate to charity, and currently it was sitting at just above his shoulders.

He ghosted to his closet, rummaging through his drawers, where he pulled out a pair of black skinnies and a black t-shirt. He reached up, gripping a red and black flannel and throwing it over his shoulders. After giving himself a once over in the shared mirror, he adorned a few of his fingers in rings and his neck with his cross necklace, where it laid cold on his chest.

Harry shrugged at his appearance, figuring he looked good enough to pretend he was trying and hurried to the bathroom to take care of his morning hygiene. Within fifteen minutes, he was out the door with his backpack thrown over his shoulders and on his way to his first university class.

He stopped by the campus Biggby for some morning fuel, ordering the Mint Chip Freeze, before walking across campus to the Communication building for his Social Psychology course. By the time he gets there, the auditorium is filled up about half way, most of the students hovering in the middle of the room. Harry was normally the kid who sat close to the front, otherwise he’d lose focus, so he did that, taking a seat three rows back directly in the middle. 

His backpack made a muffled thump, and Harry let out a sigh as he dropped into the seat tiredly. The noises he produced was disruptive enough to cause the student to his left to look his way—Harry hadn’t even noticed he was there before.

“First class?” Harry jumped at the voice, opening his eyes and snapping his head to the boy sitting next to him. If he was startled before, he definitely wasn’t doing any better when he took the boy in. The first thoughts going through his head were _fuck me_ because how the fuck was he supposed to concentrated for a whole semester in this ninety-minute lecture when he had a fucking _model_ sitting in the same room as him.

The boy—man, more likely—was gorgeous. He had chestnut hair, swept messily in a fringe on his forehead. His skin was unfairly tan—golden, like he had spent his entire summer boating on Lake Huron. His eyes sparkled like the sun and were the color of the water. His voice was high, but raspy in a way that voices shouldn’t be, and it was unfair what it did to Harry. The smile this golden man was given him was bright and wide, slightly lopsided and outlined by the perfect pair of plush, pink lips that Harry wanted to jump right on.

“You alright, pal?” With shot pupils, Harry pulled himself from his thoughts at the voice of the man. He nodded shyly, his cheeks flaming with embarrassment. “Okay, good. Almost seemed like you stopped breathing—you dying right now would mean I would have to file a report, and I really don’t want to do that. Although I’ve heard a rumor that if someone dies, we all get A’s, so maybe it’d be worth it.”

Harry laughed in response, loving his joking already, and finally found his voice, “Honestly, it’s been something I’ve been trying to accomplish for years now. At least I’d be doing it for a good cause.”

The green of Harry’s eyes brightened at the laugh that came from the handsome stranger’s mouth, and he thinks it might’ve just made his year. The stranger responded, “You’re funny. I’ll keep you around, mate.” He stuck out his hand, which Harry easily engulfed with his much larger ones, but he was more focused on how soft they were. “I’m Louis Tomlinson, but Louis is fine.”

“Harry Styles.”

“Oh, we’ve got a proper pop star name, don’t we?”

Harry snorted, “Says the royal Louis Tomlinson.”

“Oh, so the freshman’s got sass,” remarked Louis, retracting his hand slowly and quirking an eyebrow. Harry gulped, nervous he had just ruined whatever this could possibly turn into, but was quickly relieved when Louis continued. “Well, young Harold, I have a feeling you and I are going to be great friends.” He wanted to shoot back that Harold wasn’t his name, but he also had a feeling that it was going to grow on him real fast as long as it was Louis Tomlinson calling him that name.

Harry attempted to find his voice, confused at how nervous he was around this guy. Back in Allendale, he was everyone’s friend. Harry wouldn’t argue that he was popular, but with his charisma, apparently cute boyish charm, wild curls, and cute little dimple, he was somewhat everyone’s favorite. Gemma had been the same way—president of her class, head of the NHS, and valedictorian. While Harry hadn’t been as accomplished, he was still in many high tier social roles in high school, so talking to a random bloke at university shouldn’t have been a problem. He’s finding, however, that when it comes to attractive, older random blokes at university, apparently it is a problem.

“So,” the attractive, older random bloke at university interrupted, “Are you a psych major then, Harold? Figure if I’m gonna keep you around, I have to know something about you.”

“Uhm,” stuttered Harry, eyes widening as he tried to remember his major, “Yeah. Applied Psychology. Eventually, hopefully, clinical psych in grad school.”

Louis nodded, gentle smile easily calming Harry’s nerves. “That’s really cool, Harry. PhD, I’m assuming? Or just a masters?”

“I’m not really sure yet,” Harry answered honestly. “I’m taking a _Careers in Psych_ course that will hopefully give me more direction to what I want to do. I know I want to eventually work with childhood trauma though.”

“Seems like you have an idea at least—that’s more than most people can say.”

“Yeah,” smiled Harry, blushing slightly. “What about you? Any idea what you’re doing yet?”

Louis laughed again, leaning back in his seat and turning his head to face Harry. “I’m a junior, so I would really hope I have an idea by now.” There was a pause as Harry chuckled before he continued. “Sports Psychology. I’m on the accelerated Master’s route right now, so I’ve only got three years left before I have my degree.”

“That’s awesome,” admitted Harry, excitement brewing behind his tone. “What does Sports Psychology entail? I know nothing about it.”

The beautiful man shrugged humorously, “Most people don’t. To make it simple, I’ll be using psychology to help athletes with optimal performance and well-being. It’s a pretty fun job. I want to work in the Premier League over in the UK actually.”

“Big soccer fan, then? Do you watch the school’s team play?”

There was a glint in the blue of Louis’ eyes as he said, “Something like that, yeah.” Harry just laughed it off, only to be interrupted by professor walking in and greeting the two of them, then the whole class. Harry quieted down, turning back to face the front of the auditorium, and prepared for his first college class ever. He watched Louis unfold his notebook next to him as he got ready for the lecture as well; he noticed the way Louis' biceps curled under his tight t-shirt, how his high cheekbones popped when he squinted at the projector screen, and how absolutely adorable this man looked with a sleepy gaze in his crystal blue eyes. And Harry thinks that maybe he loved morning classes after all.


	2. Part Two

No one told Harry how fast school flies by in university—it feels like just yesterday he was settling into his dorm room and drinking cheap whiskey with Niall over their guitars. Two weeks of classes had flown by, and they were in full swing of the semester. He was somehow keeping up with his readings—it was his Research Methods class that was really kicking his ass. He didn’t know how one professor could assign so much reading. Luckily for Harry, it was pretty simple material, most of it just being refresher, but with the amount of work he was putting into his courses, it was no wonder he was realizing he had no social life.

It was Saturday night; Harry was stretched out across his bed, Research Methods textbook open in front of him and a notepad by his side. He was flipped on his back, staring at the ceiling as he tried to motivate himself to do _something_ , but it just wasn’t happening. Suddenly, the dorm door slammed open—Harry only followed the open-door policy when Niall was in the room—and the man himself strolled in, McDonald’s cup in his right hand and his guitar case on his shoulder.

“Hey, mate,” greeted Niall, offering his roommate a toothy grin. Harry just rolled his head over to looked at Niall and let out an unamused grunt. “Well, I can see studying it going very well, then. What are you even studying for anyway?” He removed the guitar from his shoulder, tossing it on his desk.

Harry sat up, scrubbing his hand over his face as he explained, “Research Methods. We have a quiz already on Monday and I wanna make sure I ace it.”

“Mate, all I see you do is studying that shit. I’m sure you’ll do just fine,” chuckled Niall, shaking his head slightly. He unzipped his guitar case, placing it back on his stand before he moved towards his closet. “Say, what are you getting up to tonight, H?”

The taller boy shrugged, grabbing his phone to check for any notifications. “I didn’t really have any plans. I was just gonna study, I guess.” He dropped his phone back on his bed, looking over at his roommate who was looking at him incredulously.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Harry shook his head no. “Harry. It’s Saturday night. You’re in _university_ , mate. If you’re not at least at a bar on a Saturday night with a bunch of drunk gits, you’re not doing it right.”

Harry laughed, laying back on his bed. “I’m just not really into getting drunk, Nialler. I’ll be fine. I should be studying anyway.”

“You _only_ study, mate. Come on.” Suddenly, Harry felt his bed shake, causing him to look over at Niall who was climbing the ladder to his bed. Harry sat up on his elbows with his brows furrowed at the Irishman. “Listen. I’m going out with my mates—a couple of the lads from the footy team—come out with us. We’re not drinking, but we’re gonna do karaoke at Crunchy’s. They’re a lot of fun, I promise. Plus, maybe you can pull or something. You need _friends_ in university, H. This is where you meet your mates for life.”

“I don’t know, Nialler,” sighed Harry. He bit the inside of his cheek—a nervous habit he had picked up over the years—before looking into the eyes of his roommate. It might be healthy for him to have more than one mate. He doubts he’ll be getting laid anytime soon, as he isn’t really one for casual love affairs, but it wouldn’t hurt to get his flirting game on. Back in Allendale, it was pretty rare to find any other gay or bisexual men to be interested in unless you headed onto the GVSU campus. Most of the LGBT+ people at his school weren’t ones he was interested in, and he had met all of them considering he ran the LGBT+ Club his junior and senior years. The only boy he had ever even been with was a senior when he was a sophomore. Harry had just come out of the closet and Nick was the most attractive man in the entire senior class. He had eyes for Styles since his freshman year, and Harry fell for every one of his little tricks. Of course, when Harry went to surprise him on campus during Nick’s freshman year of university, he shouldn’t have been surprised to find another person—a woman—in his bed, riding his dick, and simultaneously breaking Harry’s heart with every squeak of the bedframe. It’s safe to say, then, that Harry didn’t have much great experience in the dating world.

“Come on, Harry. You don’t wanna be the loser with no friends when he graduates, do ya?” Niall’s stormy blue eyes were wide and begging as Harry stared into them. The taller man let out an exasperated breath before he sagged his shoulders.

“Fine,” groaned Harry.

“Yes!” Niall jumped from the ladder to the floor, doing a little jig before he began bouncing around the room again. “Let’s get dressed then, mate! We’re leaving in about half an hour. Wear something hot!” Harry rolled his eyes, already somewhat regretting this decision, but he went along with it anyway. With little motivation, he dragged himself from his bed, taking his phone with him, and climbed down the ladder. 

Harry pulled out his best pair of dark blue skinnies and his black Henley, tossing it over his tanned chest. He pushed the sleeves up his forearm a bit, allowing a little sneak of the little ink he had on his left arm. His cross necklace hung loosely on his chest, visibly due to the buttons of his shirt being undone. Harry walked over to the mirror, cringing slightly at the greasiness of his hair, knowing he hadn’t time to wash it this morning and that he had no time right now. He walked to his chest of drawers, opening the bottom one to search through the caps he brought with him. His dark blue beanie stood out to him, so he arranged it to fit over his curls neatly. To finish off the look, he spritzed a bit of his cologne on, just incase he did pull tonight, and slid his phone into his tight back pocket.

Half an hour later, the roommates were headed out the door and down the stairways to meet their Lyft. Crunchy’s was right off campus, so it was only a short trip before they were pulling up in front of the bar. They walked around the side of the building to the entrance, which only looked slightly sketchy as Niall pulled it open and Harry followed him inside. The bouncer at the door checked their IDs, placing a large black ‘X’ on Harry’s hand, which only made him confused when he waved Niall through.

“Do you have a fake I.D.?”

“Be quiet,” hissed Niall, who had brought his finger up to his lip. “We drink starting at thirteen where I’m from, Styles. You really think I was about to come to America unprepared?” Harry just smiled and shook his head in return. “I’ll get you one sometime, now come on. My mates are usually up front.”

The bar was pretty packed, with several old-timers sitting around the bar in the very back. Off to the left was a dining area, several booths lining the wall, which was packed completely with more MSU students. The main dining area was packed as well, with very few empty seats to be filled. At the very front of the pub was a stage where several colored lights shined down on a microphone and a massive screen displayed the lyrics of whatever karaoke song was currently going on. What caught Harry’s attention wasn’t the song playing, though; it was the loud cheering coming from the very front table by the karaoke stage. Harry realized this is where they were heading.

The table was surrounded by about seven other people, all with beers and food in front of them. They weren’t disrespectfully rowdy or anything, but they were definitely loud enough to entertain everyone in the room.

“Horan! You made it,” one of the boys screamed. The man who stood to pull Niall into a hug was around the same height as him, with a brunet buzzcut and large puppy-brown eyes. He was what Harry would consider handsome: A slightly more mature face and some facial hair to compliment it. The man was also buff—his muscles were straining against the tight long-sleeve he had covering his broad chest.

“Good to see you, lad,” Niall responded, pulling away and throwing an arm over Harry’s shoulder. “Lads and ladies, this is my roommate Harry Styles.”

“The freshy?” The one who spoke up was at the opposite end of the table, with a peaky blinders cut and a smirk. Under his arm was a girl with shoulder length hair and a friendly smiled, looking at the man incredulously. She slapped his shoulder before crossing her arms.

Niall was laughing, which is what pulled Harry from his thoughts, as he listened to the Irishman continue, “Yes, Stan, the freshy.” His roommate started to point out the people at the table helpfully. “That jackass down there is Stan and his lovely girlfriend Jade. The ones to her right are Luke and then Calvin.” Harry nodded at them, and they waved back. “This beautiful man right here,” Niall patted the shoulder of the handsome man he had just hugged, “is Mr. Liam Payne. Our star keeper. And this is his elusive boyfriend Zayn.” Harry’s eyes drifted to the attractive man who shot him a slim smile before returning to his meal. He was blown away by the amount of attractiveness that could be contained in one friend group, but then he remembered he wasn’t in high school anyone. And pretty people tend to find other pretty people.

“Forgetting someone, asshat?” Harry’s heart picked up at the voice, being able to recognize it from a mile away. To the left of Stan, in all his beautiful glory, was Louis Tomlinson. He was wearing an Adidas crewneck, leaning forward casually against the table, a tall beer cradling between his petite hands. His hair was styled nicely, and his eyes were sparkling in the low pub light, and Harry knew his own cheeks were blazing red.

“Of course not, Tommo,” laughed Niall, who strolled over to the other end of the table to bro-hug Louis. “H, this is my best mate in the entire world, Louis ‘the Tommo’ Tomlinson. Center striker for the footy team, as well as our leader and team captain. Best guy you’ll ever meet.” Niall’s smile was wide as he kept egging on the shorter man, who eventually jabbed his elbow into the blond’s side, telling him to shut up.

Harry just stood awkwardly, crossing his hands in front of his lap as he tried to figure out where to sit. Thankfully, his prays were answered when the beautiful lilt of Louis’ voice called out, “Harold. Why don’t you come sit next to me, yeah?” He just quickly nodded, maneuvering his way through the packed chairs.

Once he had successfully squeezed himself between Louis and Niall, the waitress stopped by, allowing Niall to order a Guinness for himself and a Faygo for Harry. “You not drinking, Harold?”

The younger boy turned to Louis, looking him in his eyes as he stuttered out, “I-I’m underage.”

Louis just shrugged. “Lemme know if you change your mind. I know the bartender.” The wink that Louis sent him sent Harry’s heart racing out of his chest. Harry just nodded. “You know, Nialler,” Louis continued, leaning over Harry, giving him the perfect opportunity to take in the vanilla and tobacco scent that Louis carried. “Harold and I have actually met already. He’s in my social psych class—we sit next to each other.”

“No shit,” shouted Niall, who turned to his roommate with a smile. “You never told me your met Lou.”

Harry’s green eyes were wide as he attempted to explain, “I-I. I’m sorry. I—didn’t know. I didn’t know you two—”

“It’s alright, H,” chuckled Louis, resting a hand easily on one of the freshman’s thighs. “Don’t wind yourself up too hard about it. I understand you wanting to keep me all to yourself.”

“Shut up, Tommo,” berated Luke, who throw a fry at the shorter lad. The whole table was laughing and rolling their eyes at Louis’ cockiness. “I don’t know why you haven’t asked to be moved yet if you’re sitting next to this one.” Harry couldn’t help but laugh at Luke, who only ended up winking at him.

Harry couldn’t help but banter back, “He’s easy to put up with when he’s quiet.” It was Luke who laughed this time, leaning across the table in order to hear Harry better. 

“So, H,” Luke continued, his chocolate eyes giving the taller lad a once-over. Harry couldn’t help but think he was imagining how Louis’ grip on his thigh had gotten tighter at that. “What’s your major?”

Before Harry could utter a sound, the smaller man next to him was biting out, “Psychology. Sounds interesting, yeah? Maybe you can get your _boyfriend_ to tell you about it, considering that’s what he majored in, yeah?” Harry glanced over at Louis questionably, whose blue eyes were just digging into Luke’s challengingly. Luke’s eyebrow quirked, before he leaned back into his chair and took a sip of his pint.

And then it was like nothing happened.

Louis picked up a conversation with Stan and Jade, while Niall was chatting with Liam and Zayn about some music professor. Harry just sat there, observing the bar around him, as well as the people, and figured he might be able to get used to the college life.

“You gonna do karaoke, H?” Harry looked over to Louis, who had just whispered in his ear sweetly. He offered him his best dimpled smile, knowing it seemed to work on most people, before he shrugged.

“I don’t know, Lou. I’m not really that great at singing. I don’t even know what I’d sing.”

Louis quickly retrieved his phone from the table, unlocking it and shoving it in Harry’s much larger hands. On it was a list of songs to choose from. “Scroll through this list and,” Louis reached across the table for a slip of paper and a pen, “when you find something you like, just write it on here and turn it into the DJ. I promise it’s a lot of fun. No one will judge you here. Everyone is either too wasted, too high, or just doesn’t care.”

Harry nodded shyly, giving one last look around the bar to check out the crowd. He had done karaoke before when he would go out with Nick. Sometimes he would even do the school talent show because he didn’t have that bad of voice. It was just something about this particular bar with these particular people—namely Louis—that was making him question the decision. He was trying to make it with Niall’s mates, especially now that Louis is suddenly apart of those mates. At the same time, it might be worse if Harry didn’t sing. Louis clearly wants him too, so maybe he should.

“Hey.” The same voice pulled him from his thoughts once again and he was greeted with a gentle, kind smile that graced Louis’ perfect lips. “If you don’t want to, it’s okay. There’s no pressure. If it makes you feel better, I’ll be singing as well.”

“I think I want to do it,” admitted Harry quietly. “I just want to find the perfect song.”

The smile that lit of Louis’ face only made Harry more determined to find the perfect song. “Good. I just want you to have fun, Curly. I know you’ll do great.”

After another five minutes of searching, Harry finally chose a song, successfully hiding it from Louis and Niall before he was dropping it off with the DJ. For the next twenty or so minutes, Harry just sat back with the group of people at the table, singing and cheering along to the acts that went up to perform. He made sure to clap loudly for everyone, knowing it took guts to even get yourself up there.

His nerves started to shoot high with every person that was called up, knowing his name was in the mix somewhere. Finally, his heart caught in his throat when the DJ called out his name, looking directly at him with a somewhat bored expression. Louis patted his thigh reassuringly and the rest of the lads at the table cheered, screaming out his name and clapping excessively.

Harry shimmied up to the stage, clutching onto the microphone nervously as his hands shook. He looked around at the crowd, noticing the eyes that were on him and was now thinking that maybe this was a bad decision. However, when green met blue, the anxiety seemed to filter away. He kept his eyes locked on Louis’ as the music started, eventually breaking so he could look at the lyrics like he didn’t already know the words to them.

The jazzy bop started to play through the speakers and the bar cheered, giving Harry a boost of confidence as he began to move his hips to the beat. He stepped back, smiling to the crowd as the first lyrics came up.

**_Mirror, mirror on the wall, don’t say it ‘cuz you know I’m cute._** He looked over to Louis, winking before he went to the next lyrics.

_**Louis down to my drawers, LV all on my shoes**_ **.**

**_I be drippin’ so much sauce, got me looking like ragu._**

**_Lit up like a crystal ball, that’s cool, baby, so is you._ **

Harry’s voice dropped an octave; with his hands on the microphone he looked out over the crowd who was clapping along.

**_If I’m shinin’ everybody gonna shine. I was born like this—don’t even gotta try._**

**_I’m like chardonnay get better over time._ **

**_Heard you say I’m not the baddest bitch you lie._ **

He looked over to his table, who were all smiling widely and talking between each other as they kept their eyes glued to Harry. Louis had the widest smile, ignoring all his other friends to watch Harry intently.

**_It ain’t my fault that I’m out here getting loose,_**

**_Gotta blame on the Goose, gotta blame on my juice, baby._ **

**_It ain’t my fault that I’m out here making news,_ **

**_I’m the pudding in the proof, gotta blame it on my juice, ya-ya-ee._ **

He danced his way through the second verse, his confidence finally shining through as the bar seemed to cheer along with him. The microphone was off the stand and in his hands as he bopped around, moving his shoulders fluidly as he put on a show. He walked over behind Louis, throwing an arm over his shoulder.

**_Somebody come get your man, I think he got lost in my DMs._** The bar shouted back the “What?!” He shimmied back, sending a wink Louis’ way as he moved back to the microphone stand, smirk wide on his face.

**_You better come get your man, I think he wanna be way more than friends._**

**_Way more than friends. Watcha want me to say?_ **

Finishing off the last chorus, Harry stepped back, dimples popping out on his cheek as he smiled brightly to the cheering crowd. He did a short bow, placing his hands in a prayer position before he thanked the DJ and made his way back over to the table. Niall was the first to greet him pulling him into a hug and telling him how great he did. He slapped hands with Liam, Stan, and Luke before he resumed his spot next to Louis.

“Fuck, mate. That’s was sick,” exclaimed Niall. “I figured you could sing but shit—that was amazing. You’re like born to be on a stage.” Harry just laughed, shrugging off the compliment nonchalantly.

Luke was next to speak up. “Don’t do that, man. It wasn’t nothing, it was really good. You’re gonna be a great addition to our Saturday karaoke nights from now on. Hope you know you’re stuck now.” His cheeky wink only made Harry blush harder at the compliment.

“It was really good, Haz.” Unlike the other lads at the table, Louis’ voice was quiet, only meant for him to hear. Harry turned his head with his lip bit between his teeth as he smiled. “You said you weren’t that good. I was expecting average. I knew it was a popstar name, love.”

Harry’s cheeks were burning red and he didn’t understand what Louis was doing to him. It had been a while since he had felt this strongly about anybody. Come to think of it, Harry thinks this is the first time he had ever felt this strongly about a person. Louis, with his beautiful eyes and hair, his sarcastic wit, and the gentle tone he used when he talked to Harry, was everything he never knew he needed but now couldn’t live without.

“I wasn’t that could,” murmured Harry earnestly. “But thank you, Lou. I can’t wait to see you perform. I’m sure you’ll be even better.”

“Oh, I doubt that, babe.” Right on cue, the DJ called Louis’ name and he was standing from the table with a lingering hand on Harry’s shoulder. The freshman was mesmerized as Louis began cracking jokes before the music starting, resulting in most of the patrons laughing. He watched on as the music to “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse started and how Louis moved around the floor confidently. When there was a particularly high note, he would place his hand on his little tummy and butterflies would erupt in Harry’s. The high rasp of his speaking voice translating into his singing voice, and it had captured Harry’s full attention. Louis would squeeze his eyes shut during the chorus, resulting in them crinkling at the corners. His smile was infectious and Harry didn’t know how he was still breathing.

It wasn’t until after the song ended that the younger boy relaxed in his seat, clapping loudly and eyes wide in amazement. When he finally turned back around in his seat, he caught Niall’s eyes, which had some sort of glint in them, but Harry couldn’t decipher it, too busy buzzing with energy at Louis’ presence and performance. 

After clapping hands with the other lads at the table, Louis sat down next to Harry, vibrating excitingly in his seat. He turned towards Harry immediately, urging, “So, what’d you think? I get quite self-conscious before I perform.”

“How?” The younger boy was on the edge of his seat facing Louis. “You looked like you were born to be on stage! Like I wouldn’t even think you were slightly nervous! Also you did amazing! Like your voice is so great and unique; I could listen to it all day, Lou.”

“Thanks, Haz,” blushed Louis, and Harry didn’t think Louis could get any more attractive. However, this Louis—this blushy, nervous Louis—was doing something completely different to Harry’s already weak heart. “I still think you were better, but thank you, love.” 

“Watcha whispering about over there, Lou?” The older man’s head perked up and snapped to look at the teasing tone of Calvin.

With his brows furrowed, he shot back, “Your mom, fuckhead. Talking about how good I was giving it to her husband last night.” Harry’s cheeks flamed red again at the comment as he ducked his head. The laughs filled the table, as did Calvin’s remark back, but it seemed his and Louis’ moment had ended as the boys at the table started some banter.

Eventually, the night came to an end, with a few of the men slightly tipsy as they walked out of Crunchy’s. Harry was next to Louis, who was silent as he walked, a small smile on his beautiful face. He stopped when they got out of the bar, urging Harry to stop as well.

“You should gimme your number, Curly. You know,” Louis shrugged, “just in case I need notes from class because I want to sleep in or something.” Harry looked at him curiously, easily making Louis crack. “Okay, fine. Maybe I wanna hang out with you too, outside of Niall and the fucking monkeys.” Harry laughed at that, handing his phone to Louis with ease.

“You can have my number, Lou. It’s not a big deal at all. You can use it for whatever you want as well.”

Louis wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Anything, you say?” He snatched the phone, opening up Harry’s contacts to add a new one. Once he had finished taking a selfie to make set as the contact picture, he handed the phone back to Harry with a smile. “I’ll be sure to only send you inappropriate pictures of me laying in various positions throughout my apartment, H. Strictly business, of course.”

As much as Harry didn’t want his face to turn red, he couldn’t stop it from happening when Louis winked at him again. Luckily, his voice didn’t falter when he said, “I’ll be waiting for them, Louis.” The other man just laughed his beautiful laugh and began walking in the same direction as his friends. Harry caught up with Niall, who was hugging Liam goodbye.

“It was awesome meeting you, Harry,” said Liam kindly. He leaned forward, offering Harry a hug as well. “Hope to see you around again, yeah? Don’t be a stranger.” 

“It was great meeting you as well, Liam. And you, Zayn.” Zayn nodded at him, returning his parting before taking Liam’s hand. The two walked away with a wave and headed towards their car. The other boys came up to say goodbye, exchanging hugs and handshakes between Niall and Harry, all telling him that he has to hang out with them again soon.

Finally, Louis approached this, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head hanging slightly. He walked over to Niall, offering the man a hug and whispering something in his ear. Niall chuckled, pulling away and nodding. 

Harry was surprised when Louis pulled him into a hug as well, telling him, “It was good hanging out with you, Curly. Don’t be a stranger.” It was too fast that Louis was pulling away, patting him on the shoulder before turning around and heading to his car.

“Come on, mate,” Niall instructed, gripping Harry’s shoulder and pulling him towards the street where their Lyft was waiting for them. They climbed in, but Harry couldn’t help but keep his eyes trained on Louis as he got into his car. Even as the pair drove away back towards campus, it was the bright blue eyes that were living in his mind.

When they arrived back at their dorm, the roommates trudged up the stairs, attempting to be quiet considering how late it was, and somehow successfully made it into their dorm. Niall slammed the door behind him as Harry flopped down onto the futon.

“I recommend your bed, mate, but you do you,” laughed Niall, who was stripping his clothes. Harry just grumbled into his pillow unenthusiastically, not wanting to pick himself up from the couch. Niall switched off the light, sinking the room into darkness, bringing a wave of tiredness over Harry. If Harry’s dreams were filled with the short, handsome stranger with bright blue eyes and that beautiful smile as he drifted off into a peaceful sleep, then nobody else had to know but him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is up. Enjoy!
> 
> Love me some Harry on Louis karaoke action :)
> 
> Stay safe, wash your hands, and treat people with kindness.
> 
> ~winterschild


	3. Part Three

“Morning sleepyhead.” Harry’s hooded eyes casted over to meet Louis’ beautiful ones. With a smirk, Louis took his seat directly to the left of Harry, taking his hand and rubbing it across the younger boy’s back soothingly. Harry tried his hardest to stop himself from being lulled to sleep. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?”

The curly-headed boy turned to look at Louis tiredly, eyes barely cracking open as he slumped forward on the desk. “Not really,” croaked Harry. “I just couldn’t sleep at all. Think I’m missing home a bit. And those fucking beds suck.”

“Yeah, they do. So happy I moved into my own apartment this year,” chuckled Louis with a smirk on his face. “I have this nice, soft king bed with silk sheets. I couldn’t be more comfortable.” Harry glared at him, letting out a sad sigh at the comment. It really wasn’t the bed that was the problem—well, it was. It wasn’t _his_ bed and it wasn’t _his_ room and it wasn’t _his_ home and he missed his mom.

Louis’ bottom lip jutted forward in a pout as he cocked his head and cooed, sounding genuine, “I promise you get used to it sooner rather than later. It was hard for me my first year because I’m so close to my family. I have all these little siblings and whenever they call, even now, I cry every time I have to say goodbye.”

Still pouting, Harry responded, “I don’t believe you.”

“Well you should,” laughed Louis, playing with the dark curls that graced Harry’s neck. “They basically had to drag me back here after winter break from my family my first year. It doesn’t help that my two youngest siblings were only just about to be two and this is my first pair of siblings I didn’t help raise. They’re just babies.” 

“I love babies,” Harry mumbled, mostly to himself. Using the last of his energy, Harry pushed himself up, making note that Louis’ hand remained on his back and a shiver was sent down his spine at the contact. “Where are you from again? I don’t think I ever asked you.”

“Midland. A bit north of Saginaw.” Harry nodded, being familiar with the general area.

“I think we have some family out in Freeland on my dad’s side that I never interact with.” 

Louis just laughed, rolling his eyes playfully. “Freeland pricks. That’s great. We love those pretentious assholes.”

“If you want pretentious, you should come to Allendale sometimes,” winked Harry, who lightly jabbed Louis’ side.

“Oh, yeah. I forgot you were one of those rich bitches from Grand Rapids.” He side-eyed Harry curiously, a smirk present on his beautiful, plush lips.

It was Harry’s turn to roll his eyes at the comment, remembering what Niall had muttered on the first day. “My family isn’t rich, Lou. We’re just comfortable, if anything.”

“Yeah, sure,” mocked Louis, who had crossed his arms over his chest, meaning that they were no longer touching. “That’s what all rich bitches say. ‘We’re comfortable’ really means you have five extra rooms just upstairs in your mansions.” Harry couldn’t help but laugh at his impression, knowing that it sounds much like many of the people in his area. “Also don’t think I don’t know about that stupid fucking guitar that Niall keeps going on and on about. He said it’s worth $15K or something like that.”

“It’s 10.”

“You think that’s helping your case, Haz?” Harry just shrugs, his lips curved up into his left cheek. Their professor walked in greeting the class, and Harry pulled out his notebook, trying to ignore the pestering of the beautiful boy in the seat next to him.

By the time Harry had returned from his day of classes, he was exhausted. His noon coffee did nothing to wake him up and his eyes were burning with the desire to take a fat nap. Unfortunately for him, it wasn’t happening. The second his head hit the pillow, his phone was ringing. 

He let out a groan, face still shoved in a pillow, as he flopped his hands around the bed in search for the device. When he couldn’t feel it out, he gave up, letting his voicemail get it as he let out a sign of relief. Whoever was on the other end was a persistent fuck, however, because it started up again. With one last moan of frustration, he lifted his body from the mattress and looked around, noticing the phone was on the television stand.

Once he had the stupid phone in his hand, he pressed accept without looking at the caller ID and barked out, “What?”

“Well, hello to you to, little bro,” came Gemma’s voice from the other side. “Rough day?”

“Hey, Gems. Sorry,” exasperated Harry. “Not rough, I’m just tired. Had a hard time getting to bed last night?”

“Oh?” 

By the tone of her voice, Harry caught on to how suggestive that comment might’ve been. He was quick to recover, “Fuck off, sis, not like that.”

She hummed, seemingly unconvinced, before she chuckled. “Missing home, then?” Harry never understood how she was able to do that. “I get it. I was the same way my first month in. Are you making friends at least, so you’re not completely lonely?”

“A few, yeah. Some guys from the soccer team. My roommate plays.”

He could tell his sister was smiling on the other end. “I’m happy to hear that, H. Friends are important in college. My best friends are my sorority sisters.”

“If this is a call to get me to go Greek, you can forget it. I’m not rushing.” A full, whole-hearted laugh came from his sister this time, causing a smile to stretch across Harry’s face. “Speaking of calling, why’d you call anyway?”

Her laughing simmered down. “I just wanted to check in with you. See how life was treating you; make sure you were settling in okay. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there move in day. I would’ve loved to help you get settled.”

“It’s alright, Gems. I know you had all your important orientation leadership shit you had to get done.” He strolled around the small dorm, stopping front of a picture of his family—his mom, sister, and stepdad—that he had framed on his desk. “I’m doing good, though. You know, classes are great. It’s a lot different from high school, but in like the best way possible. My professors are honestly kickass. I have this one who screams to get people’s attention—he’s my favorite.”

“As he should be.” Both siblings chuckled. “Are those morning classes kicking your ass like I said they would?”

“Fuck you, honestly, Gems.”

“Hey! I didn’t give you those classes.”

“Yeah, well neither did I.” In reality, Harry was chuckling, knowing that his morning classes weren’t all too bad as his mind drifted to a certain blue-eyed lad that sat next to him. He thought about the feeling of his hand on his back this morning, and how these past few weeks have been made easier by knowing Louis Tomlinson. “They’re really not as bad as I thought they would be though. I have enough motivation to get me there.”

“Hmm.” Gemma was silent, taking in the information before she rallied out, “I’m assuming by motivation you don’t mean your subject matter, which means that this will probably answer the next question I was about to ask. What’s motivation’s name?” Before he could finish groaning out Gemma, she was arguing back, “No, H, come on! Tell me about him. You know I was going to ask you eventually.”

Harry pouted, rolling his eyes knowing he wasn’t going to win this argument. “His name’s Louis and it’s nothing serious.” Gemma squealed. “No, Gems, seriously. There’s nothing more between us than the fact that we sit next to each other in my Tuesday and Thursday morning class and that he’s friends with my roommate.”

“Friends with your roommate, H? That’s _perfect_.” Harry tried to argue with his unrelenting sister, but it didn’t take. “So, does he like you? Have you two gone out on a date yet? What’s he look like?”

“Shit, Gems, calm down. One question at a time,” chuckled Harry. “We literally have only gotten each other’s numbers. I don’t know if he likes me, but,” he hesitated, biting his lip nervously. “I don’t know, Gems. He might. We all went out for karaoke this past weekend and he was there, and he sat next me the whole night. And one of their other friends kinda flirted with me, and Louis got all defensive. Oh! And he rubbed my back this morning.”

Gemma cooed, “Aww, H, that’s brilliant. I’m so excited for you. What’s he look like?”

“Well, he’s shorter by a few inches, but in a cute way, you know? And he’s got this great head of hair and he has these really pretty blue eyes. Oh! He can sing too,” rambled Harry, with stars in his eyes. Suddenly he heard the lock unlatch to the door. His eyes widened as he saw Niall walk in, who looked up at Harry with a smile. “Anyway, Gems, my roommate is back so I have to go. We’re going to get food. Love you. Bye.”

“I- Harry!” 

He hung up the phone before she could even respond, tossing his phone over to the futon and placing his hands on his hips. Niall quirked an eyebrow at Harry’s odd behavior as he set his backpack down near his desk. “Did we have plans? I mean, I’m always up for food, but I don’t know if I’m missing something.” 

Harry laughed, shaking his head while defending, “No, I just wanted to get her off the phone. You know how siblings can be. She never shuts up.” Harry was hoping he covered up the nervousness in his tone and the racing of his heart to avoid suspicion, and it seemed like it worked when Niall moved past it.

“Yeah, I get it. My mum is the same way—I swear.” The pair laughed. “We really can go get food if you’re hungry though. Today’s practice ran me out of any and all energy and I’m starving.”

Harry shrugged, knowing he wasn’t going to work on any assignment tonight anyway. “I’m in.” After Niall had removed his sweaty practice kit and changed into something more comfortable, they made their way out of the dorm hall and into the courtyard. The pair decided on the MSU Dairy Store, which involved a bit of a walk, but according to Niall, they had the best ice cream on campus.

The walk basically consisted of Niall telling Harry ridiculous things one of his music professors said every lecture. He even brought out a list that he used to record the nonsense. Harry was red in the face from laughing so hard by the time they reached the small shop and walked through the door.

Once they had taken a seat in a small booth and received their food, Niall switched the conversation around. “So, how’s uni treating you, mate?” The younger man shrugged, taking a bite of his sandwich before moaning. “Told you so.”

“Fuck, Horan, this is good,” moaned Harry, taking another bite. After he had swallowed and gotten over his foodgasm, he continued, “I mean, it’s been going good I think. I had trouble sleeping the last few nights because I’m a bit homesick, but otherwise, everything is good. This is the first week I’ve kinda been off my game, I think.”

“Yeah, I get that,” consoled Niall. His stormy eyes were drooping as he looked on at his roommate with sympathy, “Missing family is hard, especially as a first year. Living in the dorms never helps either. Those communal showers really make you remember you’re not home. Maybe I can keep you distracted. Our first game of the season is this Friday if you want to come.”

Shrugging his broad shoulders noncommittedly, Harry spoke, “I’m not sure if I’m up for it this week, Nialler. If anything changes, I’ll let you know.”

“No problem, mate. There’s always another week.” The blond attempted to offer his roommate a kind smile, eyes genuine as they bore into Harry’s forest green ones. “Tell me more about what’s going on.”

“It’s kinda weird, I think, but like—I don’t know. I feel a little trapped. I feel bad that I don’t keep the door open and do that whole ‘open-door policy’ thing when you’re not there,” admitted Harry.

His roommate explained, “Not everyone has to follow that open-door policy, mate. It’s okay if you’re not comfortable doing it. You already have a group of friends anyway, so it’s not like you need it.”

“I know,” waved off Harry. “It’s not that I’m uncomfortable or anything. Like I know it’s a great way to make friends and I don’t mind when you do it at all. I just—sometimes I get anxiety when I’m surrounded by so many people in my own personal space. And I get a bit irritated and anxious and I have these breakdowns. Like I feel like there’s always people everywhere and it makes it worse being in a dorm hall because you’re reminded that there _are_ people everywhere.”

Niall continued to stare at him with a curious expression, clearly thinking. “You know, I get kinda claustrophobic. Me and tight spaces just don’t mix, especially when there are a lot of people, so dorms can get a little difficult sometimes. Louis—you know, the one from your social psych class—has an apartment not too far off campus. He lets me stay there sometime when it gets too much. He’d probably let you do the same if it ever gets too much.”

Harry gulped at the thought. Him—Harry Styles—in Louis’ apartment. That was a thought that he’d love to imagine but was almost afraid to. He was unsure if he’d be able to handle being in Louis’ own space without his thoughts running wild or him falling to deep. Harry was already becoming pretty reliant on Louis’ jokes every other weekday, or his laugh when Harry cracks a bad joke. It was terrifying because Harry had never felt this way about anyone before. The worst part is, whether the feelings were returned or not, Harry had no idea.

“I don’t know, Niall,” shrugged Harry, taking another bite to distract himself. “He barely knows me; I don’t know if he’d be comfortable with me being there. I don’t want to intrude.”

Niall laughed incredulously like Harry had just said the most ridiculous joke. “Mate, Louis would be completely comfortable. Plus, you’re my friend, and you’re his friend now because he talks about you at practice. Clearly, he sees you as a friend, so I don’t think it’ll be intruding.” 

Louis talked about him? When he wasn’t there? Louis talks to _Niall_ about him?

“Here,” interrupted Niall. “I’ll shoot him a text and ask him.” The Irishman looked over to Harry, raising a brow with his message app loaded on his phone, waiting for confirmation from his roommate. “I’ll only do it if you want me to though. I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.”

Harry sighed, letting the thought run through his mind once more weighing out the pros and cons. Eventually, he nodded, his curls bouncing ever-the-slightest at the motion of his head. “Thanks, Niall. Now, tell me about this girl in your composition class."

It had been a few hours since Niall and Harry had returned back from their excursion and Harry was finally cuddled up into his bed, comforter pulled over his head and headphones on, blasting one of his many sad playlists. His anxiety had somewhat soothed the second the music started filtering through his headphones about an hour ago, but the nagging feeling was still clawing at his chest. Suddenly, his phone vibrated where it sat on his stomach, lighting up the little cocoon he had made for himself. 

His heart rate picked up at the name on his screen: **Louis**. He couldn’t decipher if his anxiety had suddenly dropped by the sight of the name, or if it had just increased tenfold, but he did know that either way, he was afraid to look at the message.

Finally, he gave into his fears, tapping on the notification as it took him to iMessage, where a little grey bubble was sitting there waiting for him.

**Louis: Hi!**

**Hazza: Hey, Lou. H. x**

**Louis: Why the fuck are you typing like that?**

**Hazza: Because I can. H.**

**Louis: stoppppppppppppp signing off with H**

**Hazza: I don’t want to. H.**

**Louis: now ur just doing it to piss me off**

**here I am trying to be nice to you and offer my services and you’re being a bitch**

**Hazza: And what service is that?**

**Louis: a little irish bird told me you’ve been anxious in the dorms**

**Why didn’t you tell me that this morning : (**

**I would’ve helped earlier : (**

**Hazza: I just didn’t consider it important, I guess.**

**Louis: well it’s important to me**

Maybe one reason why Harry hadn’t told Louis earlier, besides the fact that he didn’t know Louis consider him important, was that he would’ve blushed like crazy if this conversation was happening in real-time. Harry was now thankful that Louis couldn’t see his reddened cheeks.

**Louis: anyway! I have my own apartment about ten minutes off campus by car and I would totally be okay if you wanted to come stay here sometime. It gets lonely anyway and you’re great company. You’re welcome here anytime Haz**

Harry’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard figuring out a response and trying to take in the offer without letting his thoughts get the better of him. His smile was wide and his eyes were sparkling as he reread the texting over and over again, picking up on the “great company” and “you’re welcome here any time” and the “Haz”. Fuck, Harry was in trouble. The younger lad was so lost in his thoughts, he missed the gray bubbling pop up and another text came through.

**Louis: unless that sounded very creepy or forward and you don’t want to do that. You don’t have to. I just thought I’d offer because I knoe what it’s like to be homesick and having a place that is only shared by me would be grounding for you**

**Hazza: Louis, that would be amazing. Thank you for the offer. I’d love to take you up on it.**

**Louis: Great! I have class Tues/Thurs from 9 to 4 and practice 5 to 7, and M/W we have practice 12 to 3, and Friday we have games. But I’d be happy to show you where the spare is and you can come over whenever you need a break from dorm life**

**Hazza: You are legit going to make me cry, Lou. Thank you so much.**

**Louis: Anything for you, Haz. Literally**

By the time Thursday morning had rolled around, and a few hundred texts had been shared between Louis and Harry, the freshman’s anxiety had decreased significantly and he was buzzing to go to his class. He had woken up in a chipper mood, with plenty of time to stop at Biggby and pick up his favorite drink.

Even Louis had noticed his mood when he skipped into class and happily dropped into his seat.

“Well, good morning, sunshine. Feeling better from a couple of days ago, I presume?” Louis’ smile was wide and his eyes were sparkling as he looked over at Harry. Harry just nodded, allowing a massive grin to overtake his face. “I’m happy to hear that, Haz.” 

The younger boy blushed, hiding his cheeks with his hand as to avoid the embarrassment that was already coming with this conversation. “Thank you, Lou. You helped a lot, actually.” He was afraid to admit it, but by the look on Louis’ face, he shouldn’t have been.

“I didn’t do anything, babe, but I’m happy I helped.” Their professor walked in before much more conversation could be had. That didn’t stop Louis from trying to distract him the entire period, but it did make the hour and a half pass by quicker. Once the period ended, the two boys stood, sending glances back and forth between each other silently. They had started to make their way out of the lecture hall, but the shorter man had stopped Harry before he could get up the stairs.

“Hey.” Harry looked at him, eyebrow quirked. Louis looked away, seemingly thinking something over, before he turned back to Harry. “You a fan of soccer?”

“I’d say so,” shrugged Harry.

“I’m sure you know already,” started Louis, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “but I’m the captain for the school’s team, and, well, we have our first game tomorrow. It’s free for students. I was thinking you should come, and like. Watch. I’d love the support.”

Before Harry’s brain could catch up with his mouth, words were already tumbling out, “I’d love to, yeah. Of course. I’d love to be there to support you.” 

White teeth and eye crinkles were all Harry could see as Louis beamed at him, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Oh, okay, great! Yes! It starts at five but people usually start showing up to the field around four. I wear number 28, so just keep an eye out for me.” Louis winked, and Harry’s heart fluttered. The shorter man turned, preparing to head his separate way down the corridor, still with a smirk as he began to walk backwards. “I guess I’ll see you there, Curly.”

“I’ll see you there.” Harry could feel the blood warm his cheeks. He watched as Louis turned around and strutted down the hallway, weaving through students without a care in the world. Once Harry realized he was still starring like a love-struck idiot, he began moving, making his way to his next class and hoping that Friday would come faster.

Friday did roll around faster than expected, but that might have something to do with the fact that Harry distracted himself all evening with homework and video games, ensuring that his Friday was completely cleared. Niall had let him be the night before, shaking his head with a chuckle every time he was shushed by Harry when he tried to distract him with something different. Now here he was, standing in front of a mirror looking at his own appearance, trying to figure how to not look too overboard, but also look completely presentable to Louis.

He finally decided on an MSU crewneck sweatshirt and skinny jeans, with his hair held back by a beanie. With a swift look at his watch, which read 4:08, he shoved his shoes on, grabbed his ID card, and ran out the door towards the arena. 

It was easy to find Niall and Louis’ mates in the student section, considering they were the loudest and rowdiest of the bunch. Luke spotted Harry on his way down the bleachers and began waving his hands, calling out his name with a wide grin.

The older lad pulled him into a quick hug when Harry finally reached the second row of the student section. “It’s good to see you, Styles,” exclaimed Luke, who then took a seat, patting the spot next to him. “Why don’t you sit right here, dude? They’ll be coming out soon.” Harry sat, making light conversation with Luke and Zayn, who he discovered was an art major, and whom Liam has been dating for over two years now. 

Just as Luke said, the teams ran onto the pitch not ten minutes later, causing an uprising of cheers in the arena. Harry quickly spotted Niall, who sported #13, as he bounced around the pitch with his bleached hair shining in the sun. The freshman’s eyes continued to flitter over the field, knowing very well who he was looking for.

His breath caught in his throat when he spotted him—the white #28 and ‘Tomlinson’ contrasting against the forest green of the jersey. Harry’s jaw went slightly slack when he noticed the tight white shorts that Louis was running around the field with, and with the way the wind caught Louis’ perfect locks. Blue met green, and finally Harry realized that Louis was smiling at him, waving his hand faintly to greet the boy. He just reciprocated the wave hazily, only jumping out of the haze when he heard someone clear his throat.

Harry didn't think his cheeks could be any redder than in this moment, as he looked over to Luke, who had a knowing smirk adorned on his lips. “Cat got you tongue, Styles,” humorously asked Luke, who just shook his head cheekily. He attempted to recover from the falter, but all that came out was a stutter, which Luke laughed at once again. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. Just wipe that drool off your face." Another loud, boisterous laugh from Luke followed when Harry reached up to attempt wiping off the nonexistent drool from his chin.

After an exciting 90 minutes of Michigan State kicking Rutgers ass in soccer, Harry was following Luke down to the parking lot, where he and a few other of Louis’ friends piled into a small Chevy Cruze and drove off to Crunchy’s for some drinks. Niall and Louis bustled into the bar approximately 15 minutes later, all loud and sweaty, with Stan, Calvin, and Liam in tow. There were cheers around the table as they approached, and glasses raised in their honor, and Harry just sat back and watched it all go down with a smile playing at his lips.

He was sipping on his Pepsi when a hand met his back in a stern slap, causing him to choke a bit and turn towards the sheepish culprit with wide eyes.

“Oops,” Niall laughed, pulling his hand away from his roommate’s back. “Sorry, mate; I didn’t know you were drinking.” The Irishman’s face was still slightly red from the game, making the storm in his eyes shine bright even in the low light of the bar. He had a cheeky smile as he took a seat next to Harry. “So,” he continued, something suspicious gleaming in his eyes. “I thought you said you weren’t gonna make it this Friday, roomie.”

With green eyes as wide as saucers, Harry choked again, quickly trying to register an excuse other than “Louis asked” that would explain what changed his mind. After a few deafening moments of silence resulting from the cogs grinding in the freshman’s head, Niall chuckled, shaking his head jokingly before resting his hand on his roommate’s shoulder.

“It’s alright, mate. I think I know why.” The blond turned to face the table, taking the pitcher and a pint from the center and pouring himself some Bud. After he had taken the first sip, he turned back to Harry, a sincere look on his face, “Listen, H. I think I kinda know what’s going on, and as much as I would support it, I just think there’s something you should probably—“

“Curly!” It was the familiar voice that Harry had grown to crave over the past month calling out to him, and not long after, an arm was thrown over his shoulder. Louis was there, in all his beautiful glory—his eyes were shining like the sea at sundown and he still smelled like vanilla, despite just coming off the pitch a short twenty minutes previous. His head turned to plant a wet kiss on Niall’s cheek before he turned back to the boy he was touching.

Louis smiled, “Did you have fun, Styles?”

“I did,” he answered honestly, nodding his head along with his answer. “You were amazing out there, Lou. I don’t know if the Spartans are just really good or if Rutgers just really sucks.”

The older man giggled, “I’d say it’s a bit of both, mate, but I’m just going to go with us being the best team in the entire world.”

“Oh, yeah? Better than Man U?”

“Obviously, mate.” The smile that Louis offered to Harry was enough to make his heart stop. Louis took a seat to Harry’s right, finally releasing him from his grip and starting up a conversation with Niall over Harry. He was content to just listen, maybe offering his opinion when it was relevant. Partway through the argument of why Liverpool didn’t deserve to win the Championship, a group of girls containing many of the team’s girlfriends approached the table, greeting everyone around it. 

Harry recognized many of the girls from the karaoke night a few weeks before, but there was one he had yet to meet. A tall brunette was stood in the middle of the group, iPhone in her hand and sunglasses on her head. She was adorned in a cropped Spartans jersey and white biker shorts, with small logo tattoos on her cheeks. Harry watched as she excused herself from her conversation and began her way towards his side of the table. She stopped short of him, leaning down to wrap her long arms around Louis’ neck and placing a delicate kiss of his cheek. Louis stood up, smile tight, to hug the model-esque girl. It wasn’t until she leaned forward, planting a kiss on Louis’ lips that Harry’s anxiety peaked and his heart cracked, if only a little. He wanted to tear his eyes from what was happening in front of him, but he was frozen in his spot, unable to move or say anything.

When the pair pulled away, the girl kept her arms wrapped around Louis’ shoulders delicately, speaking to him in a hushed tone. Louis finally pulled away gingerly, that tight smile remaining on his lips as he turned to face Harry and Niall again. The older man seemed to jump slightly, realizing that Harry’s eyes were on him.

“Oh, who’s this newbie,” the girl questioned, leaning on Louis’ shoulder has her eyes pierced sweetly into Harry’s.

Louis shrugged her off, rolling his eyes at her sickly sweet tone before putting all his attention back on the freshman. “This is Harry Styles. Nialler here is his roommate, so we forcefully injected him into out karaoke nights.” Despite the playfulness of his tone, Harry’s heart had yet to stop aching.

The girl stepped up, waving her hand at Harry before saying, “Oh, that’s so sweet. We love fresh meat.” She reached her hand how to shake Harry, which Harry reciprocated, before she continued, “I’m Eleanor Calder. Louis’ girlfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I've hope you've enjoyed it thus far. Stayed tuned for future chapters and feel free to drop a kudos/comment.
> 
> Love you all.
> 
> Stay safe, wash your hands, and treat people with kindness!
> 
> ~winterschild

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I've hope you've enjoyed it thus far. Stayed tuned for future chapters and feel free to drop a kudos/comment.
> 
> Love you all.
> 
> Stay safe, wash your hands, and treat people with kindness!
> 
> ~winterschild


End file.
